Human resources
An environment that allows people to perform at their best
ETH Zurich’s international positioning is contingent on its ability to recruit the most talented people from around the globe. With its attractive working environment, culture of mutual respect, state-of-the-art infrastructure and flexible forms of working such as the Future of Work and Lifelong Learning Hub, ETH is successful in attracting highly professional and committed staff, many of whom enrich Switzerland’s own labour pool. Particular emphasis is placed on continually developing the Social and Leadership Competencies of all ETH employees, as well as promoting equal opportunities and inclusivity. The different perspectives and experiences of staff and students augment the university’s strength and generate added value in a highly competitive global environment.
Diversity: a strength as well as a challenge
At ETH Zurich, people of different genders and cultural backgrounds study, research and work together in many varied roles and disciplines. Mutual respect is essential for successful collaboration. Adopting a holistic approach, the university champions equal opportunities and diversity, and campaigns against bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment. It raises awareness of these issues amongst the community, addresses inappropriate behaviour and offers both counselling and structured procedures to resolve situations.
ETH Zurich has revised its regulations governing procedures in the event of inappropriate behaviour and conflicts in the workplace. The regulations now distinguish between three main points of contact for employees. Since July 2024, the new Clarification Office has provided advice and support in the event of tensions and conflicts in the workplace. Managers can also contact the Clarification Office for easily accessible support in preventing and promptly detecting the potential for escalation. The longer-standing Respect Office and the External Reporting Office round out the service offering, with the former providing guidance and short-term coaching and the latter conducting a fact-finding process in the event of discrimination or sexual harassment.
Highly qualified and motivated staff are the key to excellence in research and teaching. Personnel development therefore plays a central role at ETH Zurich. The university supports the personal and professional development of its employees with a diverse range of offerings to ensure they maintain a high level of performance and continue to develop their skills over the course of their entire career.
Appraisal interview puts participants on an equal footing
Since summer 2024, the new Dialog format has been used for appraisal interviews at ETH Zurich. At least once a year, supervisors and employees discuss tasks, objectives, their collaboration and personal development, with the focus on giving one another feedback, sharing expectations and expressing appreciation. The format was tested in a pilot project involving around 900 people. For employees who are part of the ETH salary system, the letter grade previously used to rate performance will be replaced by a supervisor assessment and the assumption that all employees are generally performing to a good to very good standard.
Productive collaboration between all staff
ETH Zurich is creating the future world of work together with its employees, and in doing so balancing a range of different needs. In addition to flexible forms of working, it is also shaping developments such as institutional change, digital transformation and lifelong learning. The result is a working environment that fosters productivity, team spirit and personal growth.
Position paper on the future world of work
The world of work is in a state of flux: remote working, lifelong learning and digital transformation are becoming ever more important. A new position paper on “The future of work at ETH” sets out the Executive Board’s goals and lists recommendations for supervisors and employees, among other things. For example, supervisors should enable remote working in addition to on-campus working where it makes sense and is feasible to do so. A catalogue of key questions helps users to find out whether flexible working can be implemented in their situation. However, there is no one uniform solution for ETH as a whole.
Diversity: work-life balance
“As an only child preparing to care for their parents abroad, I appreciate it when an employer fosters awareness of balancing work with caring for relatives and supports me.”Kaitlin McNally, Project and Policy Coordinator and Education and Equal Opportunities Officer at the NCCR Digital Fabrication
Quite a few people at ETH Zurich are faced with the challenge of balancing their professional activities with caring for relatives. On 30 October 2024, Switzerland’s nationwide Day of Caring for Dependants, employees and students were able to find out more about various topics, get to know the supporting infrastructure better, both at ETH and outside, and interact with like-minded people. Above and beyond the action day, ETH Zurich also considers it important to support its employees and students in such life situations and create understanding of their special situation.
Award-winning leadership and diversity
2024 ALEA Award
ETH presents the Art of Leadership Award (ALEA) in recognition of leaders who facilitate modern and innovative working conditions and help staff to balance work, family and extra-professional commitments. Leaders are nominated by their staff.
Martin Ackermann and Olga Schubert won the 2024 ALEA Award as a co-leadership team. Together, they lead the Microbial Systems Ecology research group with 14 employees and create a constructive working environment where considerable importance is attached to employee satisfaction. This enables employees to develop to the full and also start and advance their careers in academia with tremendous support from Martin and Olga.
2024 Diversity Award
Every year, the Association of Scientific Staff at ETH (AVETH) and ETH Diversity present the Diversity Award together. Organisations/groups and individuals who support underrepresented groups in the ETH community and actively champion diversity and inclusion at ETH Zurich are eligible for nomination.
Victoria Herbig, a former Master’s student on the Master’s in Science, Technology and Policy programme in the Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences (D-GESS), won the Individuals category. She played a significant role in various projects that strengthen the ETH community, improve teaching and feedback mechanisms and contribute to mental health. Her tireless work over the years is testament to her deep commitment to bringing about positive change in the academic environment and has had a strong impact on D-GESS, among other places.
EquipSent won the Organisation/Group category. The team fosters global inclusion in science and education by enabling the ETH community to actively contribute to ensuring fairer access to academic resources. The initiative collects equipment that is unused but in working order from ETH labs and from labs at other universities/companies and research institutions and makes it available to labs in countries in the global south. This addresses the problem of limited access to hands-on science education in these regions, which is exacerbated by the high cost of essential materials.
New professorships
Following an application by ETH President Joël Mesot, the ETH Board appointed 34 new professors and promoted 17 professors over the course of 2024. It also awarded the title of professor 11 times and the title “Professor of Practice” six times. During the year, 20 professors left the university.
44 percent of new professors were women
Diversity is one of ETH Zurich’s success factors. Promoting women is therefore a top priority at professor level and in new appointments. To sustain this percentage rise in future, the university has set itself a target of 40 percent women for new professorships. This target was exceeded again in 2024: out of 34 in total, 15 new appointments were women professors (44 percent, compared with 58 percent in the previous year).
Staff by function and area
ETH Zurich had a total of 10,680.1 staff when calculating the average full-time equivalent across 2024, a slight reduction compared with the previous year. Some 36.7 percent of those were women and 58.3 percent were international. Counting full-time equivalent staff at the end of the year (31 December 2024) results in 10,781.9 staff. The tables show the detailed staff statistics according to function and area.
The Annual Report is produced in German and translated into English. Only the German version is binding.
© ETH Zurich, April 2025